The disclaimer will stand throughout the story.
A/N: This is simply a sort of role reversal between Edward and Bella. But of course, it will get more interesting as the story progresses.:)
Chapter 1: Live Anew
Today was my first day in Forks, a small town in Washington that's always raining. It was a relief going here, I loved the rain. It comforted me and made me at ease for some reason.
You might think I was crazy, giving up the luxurious life I had in Phoenix, but I had my reasons. My father is the head of a law firm and my mother is a doctor. Being out of the house so much, they have a hard time raising me and making sure I was safe. I on the other hand had no problem with being alone, as long as I had my piano and books with me. But for both of their comforts, they sent me to my father's older brother's son, my cousin Charlie and his wife Renee— both of whom, I was fairly close with— to live here in Forks.
My parents weren't throwing me out of the house, they assured me. They gave me a choice and I was free enough to stay and continue to live in Phoenix, but something was compelling me to go. So in the end, I moved up here under my own free will. Charlie was very kind enough to give me houseroom. So now here I am, driving to my new school in my beloved silver Volvo, preparing myself for whatever torture Forks High had in store for me.
I was anxious and that scared me a little. It took a lot for me to get worried, all the more scared. But I didn't know what to expect or how the people here would welcome me… if they would welcome me at all. And more importantly, I didn't want another Phoenix episode; I wanted to start anew. That's why I was veering clear off this school's own brand of royals, no matter how horrible or nice they turned out. I didn't want to involve myself with those… things, thank you very much.
I took a deep breath as I got out of my Volvo and tried to tame my hair. It was a failure to say the least. It was, as it always was— a sea of messy bronze. I sighed as I shut the door.
The lot was almost completely full, I observed, as I walked towards the office. I suppressed a grin as I realized my car was one of the nicest in the lot. The best thing here was a shiny silver eclipse spyder that had my eyes glued for a couple of seconds.
I walked into the small office and headed towards the lady behind the desk who was filing some papers. The nameplate showed that she was Ms. Cope.
"Excuse me," I said in my low voice, "I'm new here…" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.
She looked up and blinked in surprise. I started to shift uncomfortably. Why was she staring at me? Was there something on my face? I cleared my throat a little louder than necessary. That seemed to snap her out of her trance.
"Oh! Yes, yes, we were expecting you mister…" her brow furrowed as she tried to recall. I decided to help her, not wanting to stand under gaze longer than it was necessary.
"Masen," I smiled, "Edward Masen."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
"Isabella Marie Cullen, we are going to be late!"
I sighed, shaking my head. If their cars weren't more conspicuous than mine, I would let them drive themselves everyday. Besides, as far as my driving was concerned, we were never late.
"I'll be down in a minute, Alice."
I was in a conflict in what to wear today. And if I didn't choose something quick, Alice was going to trudge upstairs and dress me up herself. And that was something that really made my day.
So I dressed in vampire speed, pulling a black, fitted shirt over my head. I got a gray cardigan and let it hang right past my hips, over my dark denim jeans, perfectly matching my black chucks. I finished off with a long silver chained necklace with a cross as its pendant.
I smiled in amusement as I looked from the cross to my flawless, porcelain face. A vampire with a cross, how ironic.
The whole outfit accentuated the whiteness of my skin and it left my butterscotch eyes more apparent. Perfect. Alice would be proud. Sure enough, as I ran to my car, Alice bounced in her seat in delight.
"Bella, you look absolutely stunning!" She smiled, flashing me a perfect set of white teeth.
"Yes, Bella, you look great. Now can we please get a move on?" Rosalie was getting impatient. I sighed. It was never good when Rose got too impatient.
I started the engine and sped off towards Forks High school.
"Why are you all in such a hurry to get to school anyway?" I frowned.
"Chief Swan's cousin is arriving today. I want to see what he looks like." Alice was clearly excited. She was in hyper mode again. Uh-oh.
"Alice, we know you already saw him in your vision." I sighed.
"True." She nodded. "But it would be so much better to see him in person." She was bouncing in her seat again.
'And that's not all I saw.' Her smile brightened as she sent the thought to me. I sighed in frustration.
Ever since she got that vision of chief Swan's cousin, she's been blocking her mind, never allowing me to see what she saw.
She jumped off as I turned the engine off. She grabbed Jasper's hand and sped off towards their first period. She was definitely too excited.
"I don't know what she's fussing about," Rose started as we walked to our first class. "It's just another pathetic human boy that would swoon all over us."
I smiled slightly. Out of all of us, Rose was the most averse to human company… human male company at least. She was perfectly friendly to the girls in school, but to male population, well… that was another thing.
"Come on, Rose. Even I can't wait to see what he's like." Emmett bounded beside Rosalie. "It's not everyday we get to have new blood." Emmett's laugh boomed throughout the lot. I laughed along as Rosalie glared at him. His words were full of implications.
Rose mumbled a few profanities under her breath as Emmett waved us goodbye, heading to his first class. We walked in silence as we entered our Trig classroom. Math was my weakness when I was a human, but after almost a century of studying the same things over and over, you get used to it and even know more than the teacher, at times.
The moment Rose and I sat down, the door opened again, bringing in a hard gust of wind. But that's not all it brought. I stiffened instantly.
'Lovely. That human's blood is mouthwatering. Absolutely lovely.' Rose's thoughts was filled with annoyance.
Mouthwatering, indeed. It must be the new student. I've never come across that scent in school until today.
The smell coming off the human that entered caused venom to fill my mouth. I swallowed it back, clenching my fists.
This shouldn't be bothering me! I thought desperately. I was all but immune to the smell of human blood, having perfected my control with all the time I used to spend with Carlisle at the hospital.
But this human's blood was calling me, giving me a siren call, singing to me in the utmost beautiful melody. The monster inside me was growling for me to succumb to the desire. The blood was sweet, intoxicatingly indescribable. My jaw clenched as I held my breath. Rose's thoughts invaded my mind again.
'What the hell? I've never seen her act like this. It must be because of the human's blood. Bella, are you alright?'
I nodded my head in her direction, signaling I was still in control. This was nothing I couldn't handle, right? Slowly, I took in slow deep breaths, allowing the smell to fill my senses. If I continued to throw the scent off, it would be harder to control myself.
'Bella's control never wavered.' Rose growled in her mind. 'Stupid human.'
The scent started to grow stronger. But I was now more focused and I found that the scent didn't bother me as much I as I thought it would. I closed my eyes, willing the monster inside me to go away. It was working. I was steadily gaining sanity again.
'Oh no. The only open seat is beside Bella's. She had better not choose to loose control now.' Rose's thoughts were panicked.
When I opened my eyes, the human with the delectable scent was indeed sitting beside me. I looked up to see a sea of amazingly bronze hair set in a casual disarray. I studied his face. It was pale but not as pale as mine. His nose was straight, lashes were thick and his jaw and cheekbones were prominent. A good-looking human… prey.
No! I thought to myself. Humans aren't food.
Oh yeah? The monster countered, stirring inside me again. You can't fight against the need, the bloodlust. You will give in.
I won't. I know I won't. I answered it. But the thought was feeble, weak. How can you be so sure? The monster played with me.
I stared at the human's face again. I couldn't indulge in his mouthwatering blood. He didn't do anything wrong, he deserved to live like the other humans in the world.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling the burning stare I held at the side of his face. His head slowly turned to meet my gaze and he smiled at me hesitantly.
I gasped softly. Only a vampire could have heard it. A sea of emeralds greeted my eyes, inviting me to drown in them.
At that instant, my resolve was set. I was not a monster. And those green eyes were all I needed to make sure that the blood that human had would never torment my control again.
A/N: Tell me what you think and if I should continue.:) Also, read my other twilight fic, The Decision to Live. Chapter 18 is up and running.:)